Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1887-04-09
THE eovEnHzEsE CLERK.

] AGED and Helpless I'm llLDW81r
/ An old man committed suicide hers
the other day because after twenty years
service under the government he saw
nothing for his old age but the poor
/ house writes a Washington correspond
ent Of the Philadelphia Record. Thil
little incident has drawn the attention o.
the thoughtful (there are thoughtful
! people IN Washington, though you NIGH
not think IT'D anew to the problem which
must be solved before stable civil ser.
vice, with all the improvements In ad
ministratiOn which that would make
! possible, can be established. The Just
/ reason why the public service here IL
/ Washington does not get better men and
better work out Of the men it has got il
that it does not offer a career to thOss
who enter it.
( Almost AL the younger men and all the
/ younger women in the departments here
are simply waiting for something to turn
up-sOmething better, Of course, than
that which they've got. Some OF them
are trying to make straight paths fOI
themselves out Of the government ser
vice into the world of affairs. These are
the most capable, or, at least, the more
ambitious few. The many are Just
dreaming along from day to day
waiting for fairy gifts, and meanwhile
wasting their time In framing the wishes
which they viii make when the fairies
arrive.
The man who looks upon the position
he holds IN the public service as the
opening Of a career is so rare that
have never met him. Consequently, as
a general rule, the government clerk
does his work pertunctorily, spends his
salary heedlessly, and lets the future
take care Of itself In a sublime and yet
audaciOus confidence that it Will When
he discovers himself growing old In the
service his illusions begin to vanish, and
he soon finds himself looking forward to
the future with a dread and a distrust
which the are very Opposites OF reckless
confidence which he had made the fabric
OF so many dreams.
Strange Is it may seem, there are
many old men in the executive depart
ments, most of whom have grown old IN
the government service heard the
other day of the appointment to q clerk
ship Of a man who had passed the three
score and ten milestone, but such a case
A--lG5 -AAl INllAL OAL1--a A4-G EaAGy A4Gll%-a u
the different bureaus Of the government
came into them as a general rule before
the war or during the war as brown OF
as black as yours. Most OF these old
men are unfit for further duty. Yet they
are continued on the rolls, reporting for
duty every day that they are able and
performing such portion Of their task as
their feeble hands can grasp. And
when a promotion is to be made from
one grade to another the oldest man IN
the lower grade is the man who is most
likely to get the position.
There Is really no other way except to
dismiss the poor old fellows outright,
but that even the new officials hesitate
to do. They can not steel themselves to
the painful duty Of cutting OF the only
means by which these men can live. But
nevertheless, these men are so much dead
wOod-stumbling- blocks in the way OF
better men. They ought to be swept
out Of sight. They neither work them
selves nor give others a chance to work.
President Arthur saw plainly what 50
many others public men fail to see, that
you can not secure a permanent business
like civil service by simply guarding the
entrance to it. You must guarantee the
possibility Of a career in it with a due
provision for the old age which must es-
sentially close every career.
He saw that a stable civil service de-
mands civil-pensioD list. Not that he
advocated ciVil-pensiOn list. It viii be
a long While-a week after never, L trust
before any American statesman advo-
Gates that. But he saw that government
clerks, like other men and women, must
feel reasonably sure Of the future In order
to work satisfactorily and cOntentedly In
the present. They must, Ia other words,
feel assured that after serving the gov
eminent for twenty or forty years they
| Will not be turned out to starYe on the
scanty savings Of their scanty salaries.
Mr.. James G. Thompson, an old Phil
adelPhian, has thought out plan which
seems to me to afford a better remedy
for the difficulty 1 have indicated than
any other have heard of. His idea is
to establish, by authority OF congress
and under the supervision OF the heads
Of departments, a civil-serYice insurance
and pension association, made up Of the
| OficehOlders in any government Office IN
| the United States who choose to belong
| to it. He would have them agrea that /
| per cent. Of their respective salaries
should be deducted at the first OF every
month by the discussing officer paying
| them, the amounts so realized to be kept
by the treasurer Of the United States.
/ In the first instance. the United States
might advance a sum sufficient to mesi
all demands until the fund by constant
increment should be equal to them. He
would have a man who had served the
| government IN the civil service faithful
ly for long term Of years-say twenty.
five or tbirty-eigible to retirement al
his own request, or at the direction Of
his superior officer, on an allowance from
the government equivalent to half-pay
He would also provide that after making
a certain number Of payments into the
fund a clerk would be entitled to an al
lOWancs during sickness, and his family
to an amount equal to one years pay OF
his death. 1t would be q purely vOlun
tary scheme, you see, and would no
cost the government a cent sxcep
for the administrative expenses, wbicl
would be very small. Insurance expert
who have examined it pronounce It en-
tirely feasible in all its parts. Al tina
is needed to establish it is that some ris
ing young statesman who has the publ
attention sufficiently to be heard, yet no
enough to be smOthered, should tax
hold OF it in earnest. 1t would max
him a reputation.
Genius in the Kitchen.
. L